Women's War Relief

This broadside pattern gives directions for making slippers for
Union soldiers. In the first six months of 1862, the Ladies' Aid
Society of Philadelphia distributed more than 1000 pairs of slippers,
as well as thousands of boxes of other clothing, bedding, food,
medicines, and books. Strapped by meager supplies and time-consuming
military redtape, army hospital physicians and field commanders
relied heavily on the efforts of voluntary aid groups. Throughout
the war-torn country, women made clothing, grew food crops, raised
funds, and managed distribution of supplies.